Beginning ~ with the people at the pool

Beginning

The pool is located deep undergrounw, in a large cavernous chammber many feet beneath the streets of our town.  Some of us come here because we are injured, and need to heal.  We suffer from bad backs, fallen arches, shattered dreams, brokwn hearts, anxiety, melancholia anhedonia, the usual aboveground afflictions.  Others of us are employed at the college nearby and prefer to take our lunch breaks down below, in the waters, far away from the harsh glares of our colleagues and screens.

The Swimmers ~ by Julie Otsuka, 2022, literary fiction, 192 pages

From the award-winning author of The Buddha in the Attic and When the Emperor Was Divine comes a novel that "starts as a catalogue of spoken and unspoken rules for swimmers at an aquatic center but unfolds into a powerful story of a mother’s dementia and her daughter’s love" (The Washington Post).

The swimmers are unknown to one another except through their private routines (slow lane, medium lane, fast lane) and the solace each takes in their morning or afternoon laps.  When a crack appears at the bottom of the pool, they are cast out into an unforgiving world without comfort or relief.

 

One of these swimmers is Alice, who is slowly losing her memory.  For Alice, the pool was a final stand against the darkness of her encroaching dementia.  Without the fellowship of other swimmers and the routine of her daily laps she is plunged into dislocation and chaos, swept into memories of her childhood and the Japanese American incarceration camp in which she spent the war.  Alice's estranged daughter, reentering her mother's life too late, witnesses her stark and devastating decline.

One reviewer wrote:  "As the book progresses, I found [the crack at the bottom of the pool to be] a clear metaphor for the beginning of Alice's demise, the crack in her mind so to speak."  Now I'm into the book and enjoying it so far.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Thinking about books, as usual

I'm thinking about the million donated books that have piled up on my table in the kitchen.  Well, maybe not quite a million, but more than a thousand.  Why?  Because when people die, their relatives often donate their books to our little library.  Since I am currently the only librarian working here (for free, as in volunteering my time), it means people (even current residents) often ask me how they can donate books.  During our recent renovation of the library, no books were being processed.  And we (including me) had no access.  So I ended up collecting them on my table (make that plural, as in tables).  And on the floor around the table.  And in boxes under the table.  And taking up part of my desk top.  I can barely move, folks!

Another book donated to our Crown Center library

Children of the Alley ~ by Naguib Mahfouz, 1996, (Egypt), 464 pages

The novel was first published in Arabic in 1959.  It's about an Egyptian family, but it's also the setting for a second, hidden, and more daring narrative:  the spiritual history of humankind.  The men and women of a modern Cairo neighborood unwittingly reenact the lives of their holy ancestors:  from the feudal lord who disowns one son for diabolical pride and puts another to the test, to the savior of a succeeding generation who frees his people from bondage.  This powerful novel confirms that Mahfouz is "the single most important writer in modern Arabic literature" (quoting Newsweek).

In 2016 an Amazon reviewer wrote:

This book is a fictional retelling of the history of the great religious leaders of the Middle East, including Moses, Jesus and Mohammad, and a scientist to represent the modern era, when God is supposedly dead.  The story is a bit predictable, because you know who the players are in advance, but Mahfouz plays with their histories enough to provide some surprises, and the way he interprets the temperament of the great spiritual leaders is designed to be entertaining and leave you wondering what will happen next.  The writing is quite good, better than in many of his books, though I don't know how much of this is Mahfouz and how much is the translator.  The book is fast-paced, and I found myself turning pages quite rapidly as the heroes appear on the scene, take on the bad guys, and effect spiritual enlightenment which never lasts long.  I have read many Mahfouz books, and this one is a gem.  I found it on a list of great world literature, and I agree with whoever made that list; this story is excellent.  Highly recommended!"

A book I've decided to re-read

What We Keep ~ by Elizabeth Berg, 1998, fiction, 304 pages, 8/10

A reunion between two sisters and their mother reveals secrets and complexities in the lives of the women in a family.  Ginny Young is on a plane, going to visit the mother she hasn't seen or spoken to for thirty-five years.  She thinks back to the summer of 1958, when she was twelve years old and a series of dramatic events divided her family, separating her and her sister from their mother, seemingly forever.  Moving back and forth in time between the girl she once was and the woman she's become, Ginny confronts painful choices in a woman's life — even as surprising secrets are revealed about the family she thought she understood.

Grocery shopping

I went grocery shopping this afternoon.  My store isn't far from my home.

It was warm enough for me to walk there today, so I went.

I was really tired by the time I got home, but exhilirated

because I now have fresh fruits and things I was out of.

International Women's Day

Since today is International Women's Day, it seems appropriate to share a book about women.

Women Make the Best Friends: A Celebration ~ by Lois Wyse, 1995, stories and poems, 189 pages, 8/10

In her heart of hearts every woman knows that men may come and go, but a true friend is forever.  At nine, nineteen, or ninety, the one constant that marks each stage in a woman's life is the importance of the friendships she has made.  In the best of times and in the worst of times, it is our friends who sustain us, cheer us, and see us through whatever surprises life throws our way.  (Edited, from the dust jacket.)  This book has short anecdotes, short poems, short 4-5 page pieces about conversations remembered.

Week in Review

• On Monday, I mused about a surrogate mother, HERE.
• On Tuesday, I wrote about people I meet in the Circle@Crown Café, HERE.
• My Book Beginning for Friday was from a book about Iran (which seems too topical, but is also why I picked up the book), HERE.

is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

Iran Awakening

Beginning

In the fall of 2000, nearly a decade after I began my legal practice defending victims of violence in the courts of Iran, I faced the ten most harrowing days of my entire career.  The work I typically handled — battered children, women hostage to abusive marriages, political prisoners — brought me into daily contact with human cruelty, but the case at hand involved menace of a different order.

Iran Awakening: One Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country ~ by Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni, 2007, memoir, xvi + 257 pages

Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize and advocate for the oppressed, has remained strong in the face of political persecution and despite the challenges she has faced raising a family while pursuing her work.

Known as the lawyer working tirelessly on behalf of Canadian photojournalist, Zahra Kazemi — raped, tortured, and murdered in Iran — Dr. Ebadi offers a vivid picture of the struggles of one woman against the system.  The book chronicles her childhood in a loving, untraditional family before the Revolution in 1979 that toppled the Shah, her marriage and her religious faith, as well as her life as a mother and lawyer battling an oppressive regime in the courts while bringing up her girls at home.

Outspoken and controversial, Shirin Ebadi is a fascinating women.  She rose quickly to become the first female judge in the country, but when the religious authorities declared women unfit to serve as judges, she was demoted to clerk in the courtroom she had once presided over.  She eventually fought her way back as a human rights lawyer, defending women and children in politically charged cases that most lawyers were afraid to represent.  She has been arrested and been the target of assassination, but through it all has spoken out with quiet bravery on behalf of the victims of injustice and discrimination and become a powerful voice for change, almost universally embraced as a hero.  Shirin Ebadi won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize.  Her memoir is a gripping story and a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the political and religious upheaval in our world.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.